He is the Purifier…Il est le Dieu Purificateur

I have had mixed feelings about the 30’s for some years now. I remember how excited I was, when I finally reached that milestone. I remember thinking about our patriarchs in the faith and how their lives turned around for the better at that point: Joseph was crowned prince of Egypt, David started reigning as King over Judah, Jesus started his earthly ministry…

So, I was ready for my big moment, and it didn’t quite happen that way. Instead there was a do-over. There was a purifying through fire. There was a separation between wheat and chaff. God showed me my life through His lenses, and tt wasn’t pretty. See, you won’t know what you are truly made off until you get faced with real challenges.
I carried a lot of ugliness that God needed to deal with: jealousy, envy, resentment, anger, unforgiveness, fears, doubt and so much pride.

We often find ourselves in many situations where we are quick to blame the devil, but the enemy cannot do anything God himself has not allowed him to do in the first place. Sometimes, God allows trial periods to come, so we can work on ourselves and be truly free, for you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free. Whom the Son of man, has set free, is free indeed.

Job professed to be such a righteous man, until he came to it’s breaking point, and realized his own shortcomings. God caused me to question all of my life choices. Why and how did I get where I was? Whose life was I living? Mine or someone else? Who was I trying to please? Him or others? Why was I on this Earth? and simply who was I?

I thought I knew all this, but as soon as difficulty came in, I realized how shaky my foundation was. God truly needed to break me down for me to start again from the basics. As the word says, unless God builds a house, the one who builds it, builds in vain. If the foundation be destroyed, what will the righteous do?

Although, these were not pleasant times, today I am grateful. For in my weaknesses, He made me stronger. In my failures, He made wiser and in my victories, He made me closer to him.

I am still a work in progress, but I know even though I may not be where I would like to be, I am where He needs me to be and He is taking me somewhere. This time around, it will be better, for I have learned many great lessons: Love God, then love yourself, so you can better love others, because you cannot give anyone, what you do not have.

Author

Dr. Annick Nago-Adjei is a petroleum engineer by profession. She holds a PhD in Petroleum engineering from the Pennsylvania State University, and has been in academia and in the oil & gas industry for close to 10 years.
Writing has always been a passion of hers and she has decided to put together this space to share her experience, her journey and her lessons learned about her faith in God and life in general. It is her desire to see this blog encourage many in their journey with God and be motivated and inspired to keep moving forward despite the challenges of life.
Dr. Annick Nago-Adjei is originally from the Ivory Coast. She is married to Rev. Emmanuel Adjei, who is currently the lead pastor of Prayer Palace in Accra, Ghana and founder of EA Outreach Ministries, which has impacted more than 28 nations with the JERICHO annual conferences. They are parents to two wonderful daughters.